Showing posts with label Winter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Winter. Show all posts

Friday, January 2, 2015

SOUPer Soup

Winter swallows everything for a solid six months (insert black and white scream mask here) in the grand land on Lake Ontario. And when winter hits, it gives the ol' one, two punch with knee deep snow, plunging temps and grey, grey, GREYNESS. For. Months. On. End. My current fight-back technique is straight from the kitchen- armed with pots, measuring spoons, butter and a LOT of spatulas.  Cooking and baking. That's how I fight fire cold with fire. And, when I'm in Narnia, I cook a lot of soup. I mean, A LOT OF SOUP. I'm actually thinking of hosting a soup swap party, where everyone brings recipe cards and a big bowl of their favorite kind...  We'd use approximately 87 paper bowls sampling the soup spread, drink generous amounts of wine and soak up olive oil and pepper with the best bread, but anyway, I digress..
So, soup. Chowders. Bisques. Stews. Jambalaya. Broths. Stocks. Curries. Chilis. Yep, I love all of that hot in a pot goodness. 


Here's what is boiling on my stove this winter:


Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients
1 pound Italian sausage
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 slice pancetta bacon, diced
1 1/4 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 tsp chicken base (or bouillon)
4 cups water
2 potatoes, cubed
2 cups kale, rinsed and julienned
1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Place sausage links on a sheet pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until done. Cut each link in half lengthwise, and then into 1/2 inch slices. Set aside for later.
In large pot, over medium heat, saute onions and pancetta for 10 minutes, or until onions are almost clear. 
Add garlic and saute one minute. Add chicken base, water and potatoes and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes. 
Add kale, cream and reserved sausage, simmer for 5 more minutes and serve.



Minestrone Soup {Slow Cooker}

Ingredients
4 cups vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups water
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced onion
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried crushed rosemary
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/3 cups diced zucchini
1 1/3 cups shell pasta
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup green beans
2 cups slightly packed fresh spinach
Finely shredded Romano cheese, for serving (Parmesan works too)

Directions
Add vegetable stock, water, tomatoes, celery, carrots, onion, parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves and sugar to large slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook on low heat 6 - 8 hours or high 3 - 4 hours.
Add in zucchini, green beans, pasta, garlic, kidney beans and cannellini beans and cook on high heat and additional 30 - 40 minutes, until pasta is tender. Stir in spinach and cook several minutes until heated through. Serve warm topped with Romano cheese.


Chicken Noodle

Ingredients 
1 rotisserie chicken, deboned and meat chopped
2 TBS butter
1 med onion, diced
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup peas
1 cup corn
1 cup green beans
6-8tsp better than bullion, chicken
10 cups hot water
1 tsp marjoram
frozen or refrigerated noodles (i.e., Reames egg noodles)
1/4 fresh parsley
Freshly ground pepper, to taste 

Directions
Saute onion and celery in butter in large stock pot or dutch oven.
Add remaining veggies and chicken.
Dissolve bullion in a cup or so of the hot water. Stir into pot. Add remaining water and marjoram.
Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer.  Let simmer about 35 minutes.
Return to a boil and add noodles and parsley.  Boil about 3 min (or according to directions on package).
Remove from heat. Pepper to taste.


Bigos

Ingredients
1/2 medium cabbage
4 cups sauerkraut
1 lb stewing pork
1/2 lb bacon, uncured
1 lb kielbasa sausage sliced
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can tomato paste
1 bay leaf 
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Cut the cabbage in thin slices and boil until tender in a pot of boiling salted water.
Boil the sauerkraut in another of about 2 cups water. Strain and keep the sour water aside.
Saute diced pork. Set aside.
Saute bacon, kielbasa, onion and garlic together.
In a large pot, combine cooked cabbage, sauerkraut, sour water, tomato paste, spices, cooked meats, onion and garlic.
Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer. Let simmer 1 hour.


Meaty Split Pea

Ingredients
1 lb sausage
6 cups water
2 cups split peas
2 med potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
2 tsp salt
1 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions
Cook sausage until browned, drain.  Add water.
Rinse peas, add to meat. 
Stir in remaining veggies and spices.
Bring to boil. Reduce to simmer. Cover and let simmer about 1 hour, until peas are tender.


Spiced Kettle of Beef and Vegetables

Ingredients
2 lbs boneless beef chuck roast (stewing meat)
1/2 cup flour
1 Tbs salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
Olive oil 
1 cup onion
6 cups water
1 clove
1 tsp pickling spice
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cups carrots, diced
1 cup celery, chopped
3 cups potatoes
1 cup peas
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

        (thickener)
3 Tbs cornstarch
1/4 cold water

Directions
Combine 1/2 cup flour, 1Tbs salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp paprika. Dredge beef in spice mixture. Brown dredged beef in stock pot with olive oil.
Add onion, saute.
Add water. Put clove and pickling spice in mesh wire tea ball. Immerse in soup.
Simmer 30 min, covered.
Add veggies and seasonings. Simmer uncovered another 30 min.
Make thickener. Stir into hot soup.


Cauliflower, Bacon & Cashew Curry

Ingredients
2 cups coconut milk (canned)
4 Tbs curry powder
1 lb bacon, uncured, cut in 1 in strips
1 tsp sea salt
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup water
3 cups cauliflower, cut in small florets
2/3 cup cashews
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions
In a large skillet cook bacon. Set aside
Add 1 cup coconut milk to stock pot with curry powder and sea salt. Bring to simmer. Whisk to combine.
Add cooked bacon, onion and garlic. Cook one minute. Add remaining coconut milk and water.
Boil a few minutes to reduce liquid.  Add florets and cook 3 minutes, until just tender.
Remove from heat. Stir in cashews. Garnish with cilantro.  


***Follow the link to read about these previously posted amazing soups.***

















Thursday, January 23, 2014

Trippers: Two Months Old

Our little guy is two months old today.


Tripp's Stats:  No official stats for this month yet.  He goes in for his 2mon check up in a few days.  I'm guessing the "little" guy is about 12lbs and 23in long...  He is wearing 3-6mon size clothes and size 1 diapers.


Eating: This guy is an eating machine.  We are currently exclusively breastfeeding and it is going SO well. (So thankful).  He put himself on an eating rotation of every 2 1/2-3 hours around the clock, with an occasional 4-5 hour gap somewhere from 7/8pm til 12/1am.  It's a bit draining, and I am pretty much tied to him, but it's worth it.
I will confess however, that last weekend, I stole away for an entire FOUR hours.  Jarod called me about 2 hours in, and asked if I was headed back home.  So I, *gasp* had him make up a bottle of formula. Tripp took it like it was ain't no thang, and I got to finish my "me-time"... and it was totally worth it :)



Sleeping: At 8weeks old, we made the transition from sleeping in our room, to sleeping in his room. It is going very well (for the most part).  Of course he loves our pillow top mattress as compared to his one inch thin bassinet.. so I nap him occasionally on our bed or let him sleep there early in the morning.  I have tried, unsuccessfully, to introduce the bedtime routine of eat, bath, salve (the kid has the driest skin), soothe, swaddle and sleep around 6/7pm.  But for the past two weeks or so, the witching hour is from about 5-9pm.  So I usually always end up taking him back downstairs after an hour of unsuccessful bedtime-ing and rocking him to sleep and watching MadMen on Netflix.  As far as day time sleep (naps) we are all over the board.  It could be at any time, for any amount of time.  But I have learned, the MORE he sleeps during the day, the SHORTER the witching hour.


Tid Bits: He is SMILING!  His first smile actually came Christmas Day.  But then remained outta sight until just this past week.  His smile is goofy in a uncontrollable, chubby sort of way.

He just started coo-ing/baby talking two days ago as well.  It's only a sound or two, and you have to have a nice long, one-sided conversation before he responds.  It is very sweet and darling.

Tripp has an entirely different wardrobe than he did last month.  Last month I was still stuffing him in newborn size clothes and diapers (well, at least the first two weeks of the month).. and was hesitant to move him up a size.  NOW, he is busting the seams of his 3mon clothes.  What?!  So, yesterday I packed away and passed on the 3mon clothes, and refilled with 3-6mon and 6mon stuff.  Unbelievable. I hope he slows down!


Somebody got a play mat! He loves to be propped up on the Boppy and stare at his little jungle animals.

Tripp had his fair share of baby acne.  Poor little guy, he had it bad.  It's over, but lasted almost the entire past month.


He is getting better and better at holding his head up.  This is bittersweet.  It means less and less snuggles and vertical sleeping on my chest and shoulders.  And more and more curiosity in the world around him (and more and more head bobs and divebombs into my shoulder).


Likes: "Jumping" up and down on my lap, being talked to, laying on his changing table and staring at his stuffed toys, laying flat on his back, toddler songs, bathtime and his sister.

Dislikes: Messy and/or wet diapers (30 sec tolerance, actually), laying in an elevated position (i.e., the swing, the rocker, the boppy), getting his clothes changed and too tight jammies (he likes to stretch out).


What Happened This Month? We were blessed to have my mother and father-in-law here for the first few weeks of Tripp's second month.  We celebrated Tripp's first Christmas.  Took him on his first mini vacation to Lake Placid, NY.  And he went on his first hike {inside Jarod's jacket} :)

I just love our little man.  It is a blessing to have him.  In these early months, I have to tell myself to enjoy the moments of snuggles and coos, because although the days (ahem, nights*) are long, the years are short.  I am cherishing this time, even if I'm bleary eyed and wearing pajama pants at 2pm.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Adirondack's, aka Spring Break with a 1 Year Old

Previously, we have dillied and we have dallied about road tripping with a baby... she's not a fan of the car seat or really sleeping anywhere other than her bed, she's particular about putting herself to sleep, and being alone, and on and on...  But it's Spring Break.  And Jarod and I love to go places and see new things.   Dilemma.  This wouldn't be a mandatory trip, like previous cross country excursions (i.e., moving West Coast to East Coast), this was a voluntary, possibly self-inflicted, but hopefully leisurely activity.

After being wishy washy most of the week, and contemplating and just over-thinking the entire ordeal, we remembered that WE are the parents here, and WE like to travel, and SHE is going to like it too.  So we took a deep breath, set the expectation bar super low and said, "deal with it, sista."  Not really the last part, it was more like check out a bunch of Baby Einstein DVDs and strategically plan the trip around her regular routine.

Wednesday, Jarod and I planned a smash and grab trip to the Adirondack's and Lake Placid in Eastern New York.  We booked a dog friendly room in Lake Saranac, made some Paleo-friendly trail mix and loaded up in the car at 4am the next morning.  We assumed this little package of cuteness would doze back off and snooze through most of the 6 hour drive.  False!  Good thing that expectation bar was just a few inches off the ground.
CA at 7am - sober faced and very much awake the past three hours.

We stopped at a little diner along the way for a leg stretch and breakfast.  

And surprisingly, after breakfast, around 9am, Charlie Ann napped (!) in the car seat for the next hour and a half as we finished the drive into the mountains.  

We dropped off this happy-as-a-lark guy to ice climb for the day in Keene Valley...
in these crazy conditions... bitter cold, whipping wind, snow gusts and a balmy temp of 15.  I repeat, crazy conditions.

Charlie Ann and I drove into Lake Placid and spent the next several hours doing what girls do best, shopping and eating and seeing the sights.  The conditions were about the same in the former Olympic Village, but CA seems to be rather invigorated by the cold (even though I remind her often that she is a SoCal girl) and was in peppy spirits the whole day.  
Now that she is a walker, these little outings are just great.  She can get out all of her 'I-need-to-move-energy' in a public place without say, licking the floor of the visitor center and being covered in slushy mud-snow from crawling.

In the late afternoon we returned to our drop off point to pick up the lark.
And yes, lark-dog joined him all day as well.
Here he is, post climbing!  Looking a little more frozen and a lot more like a skittle.

That evening, Charlie Ann again impressed us with a fabulous nap in the hotel room (asleep in 6 minutes flat in her pack-n-play!), a rambunctious Mexican dinner and another astounding night of sleep.    Who knew she was so capable?

Friday morning, Jarod got in another ice climbing session, and Charlie Ann and I played in the hotel pool.  

In the afternoon, we saw more sights at Lake Placid.  Including the acclaimed ice rinks that hosted the famous hockey match between the USA and the Soviet Union; and the Olympic Bobsled, Luge and Skeleton Track.
We even got to watch part of tournament.. Charlie Ann really loved the action.

Skeleton-er!  Crazy, crazy fast.  Like 84 mph fast, head first.  
And of course, Charlie Ann was ecstatic when they zoomed by.  That girl, she has her father's love of thrills and adventure.  The louder and faster, the better, for her.


Late that afternoon, we headed home.. in beautiful, but blizzard conditions.   

And once again, this little girl proved me wrong.  She took quite a long nap and was happy happy.


I am so glad that we braved it as new parents traveling with a little one.  She did super fantastic.  And we had a great time.  Jarod and I are learning that her little personality loves to be out and about.  She does great in groups and in public; the more action the better.   

And although the trip was shorter than it would have been pre-baby, we all were satisfied.  Happy Spring Break!